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Two Carolina-based, Veteran-serving organizations collaborate to serve more families
Who: Veterans Bridge Home and Patriots Path
What: Announce a strategic collaboration
When: Effective immediately
Why: To more efficiently and holistically serve the needs of veterans and their families
CHARLOTTE, NC (September 11, 2020) – The terror attacks of September 11 motivated many young men and women to pursue a career in the nation’s military. Now 19 years later, members of America’s post-9/11 military are approaching retirement eligibility and are entering an uncertain job market – one that has been particularly tough for veterans.
Fortunately for those relocating to the Charlotte region, two area nonprofits are combining their efforts to better serve the needs of veterans and their families.
Today, Veterans Bridge Home (VBH) and Patriots Path formally announced a strategic collaboration agreement that will allow them to work more closely together to the benefit of veterans and their families. In this alignment, both organizations will retain separate boards of directors and operate their distinct programs as before. However, VBH will perform all the administrative tasks for both organizations, allowing Patriots Path to teach more classes each month. This arrangement will address the increasing demand for job readiness training of transitioning service members moving to this region.
“We’re committed to supporting the military in the Charlotte market, so we welcome the strategic collaboration between these two, great veteran-serving organizations,” said Bank of America Charlotte Market President Charles Bowman. “The elimination of administrative expenses and the holistic delivery of complementary services is imperative during a period where philanthropic dollars are being stretched.”
Patriots Path’s relationships with military installations across the Carolinas means that veterans can connect with VBH before they move to the Charlotte region. This early introduction will reduce the amount of time a veteran spends searching for available services in a new community. The faster they can receive the benefits they earned through military service, the shorter their period of transition will be and the sooner they can return to previous levels of self-sufficiency.
“Veterans will have complimenting services for ‘all things employment’ as wraparound services for both preparing for and finding the careers for which they are best suited,” said Noël McCall, Executive Director for Patriots Path. “By connecting with one organization you will be connected to both.”
Veterans and their families are not the only group to benefit from this partnership. VBH and Patriots Path both foresee advantages to this partnership for the business who are actively seeking to hire veterans and military spouses.
“By having our two organizations work this closely together, job-ready veterans and veteran-ready employers will benefit,” said Blake Bourne, Executive Director for VBH. “Veterans will have access to the best job training possible with Patriots Path and will get connected to all of the support they need to successfully transition from the military. Employers who are already working with VBH to improve their veteran hiring practices will have greater access to qualified and ready veteran talent to fill their openings.”
In their nearly 20 years of combined service in this region, employment has remained a top request from veterans and their spouses. In 2019, 24% (934) of all support requests to VBH were for employment support including job-readiness training and job networking events. Additionally, 230 talent acquisition and HR representatives from 111 companies worked with VBH to improve their veteran hiring practices. During this same period, Patriots Path provided instruction for 128 veterans in 11 transition courses across the Carolinas while connecting them to over 120 corporate HR volunteers. This partnership will allow Patriots Path to increase the frequency of their classes and ultimately serve more veterans in the coming months and years.
For additional information about the agreement or to schedule interviews with Veterans Bridge Home or Patriots Path, contact Steven Cole, VP of Advancement, Veterans Bridge Home 703-835-2826 scole@veteransbridgehome.org
About Veterans Bridge Home
Veterans Bridge Home helps Charlotte-area Veterans successfully transition home after military service by offering employment and mental health services, along with networking and fellowship opportunities. Through NCServes, the VBH team can address additional needs like education or housing, and connect them to available community, state, and federal resources. For more information about our mission and what we do, visitwww.veteransbridgehome.org.
About Patriots Path
Patriots Path supports military personnel and spouses in transition to civilian careers by providing instruction, mentorship, and corporate connectivity while empowering them to translate their unique work experience while navigating the corporate employment market. Learn more about our mission to foster “Strength. Hope. Purpose.” by visiting
COVID-19 RELATED SCHEDULE CHANGES
PATRIOTS PATH EVENTS POSTPONED
In response to the sustained community threat posed by the coronavirus (COVID-19), the following Patriots Path events have been postponed or are now pending. As new dates are confirmed, we will update our calendar of events and communicate those to you.
• Patriots Path Workshop, Charlotte, NC: March 16-20, 2020 – POSTPONED
• Patriots Path Workshop, Ft. Bragg, NC: March 30-April 3, 2020 – POSTPONED
• Speed Networking at Ft. Bragg: April 1, 2020 – POSTPONED
• Volunteer and Alumni Appreciation at Unknown Brewing, Charlotte, NC: April 7, 2020 – POSTPONED
• Patriots Path Workshop, Camp Lejeune, NC: April 20-24, 2020 – PENDING
We look forward to rescheduling these events when it is safe and approved for us to do so. In the meantime, we encourage everyone to stay healthy and to follow the protocols being asked of all of us.
